Nam Tai Electronics, Inc. Acquires New Telecom
Division
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Nam Tai Electronics, Inc. (''Nam Tai'' or the ''Company'') (Nasdaq:
NTAI - news and NTAIW - news) today announced the establishment of a new telecommunications division, emerging from a
successful acquisition in Korea. Set up as Nam Tai Telecom (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd. (''NT Telecom''), this new subsidiary is based
in Hong Kong with a branch office in Korea and related research and development teams in Japan and North America. NT
Telecom develops, manufactures, and sells high frequency wireless telecommunication products.
Through this acquisition, Nam Tai immediately gains established customer relationships, existing sales orders, and most importantly
the necessary licences to sell its 900 MHz cordless telephones in the European market. Under the current European regulatory
system, licensing approval must be sought and obtained from each individual country for permission to produce and sell cordless
telecommunication products, a lead time often taking 15 months or more. With this acquisition Nam Tai bypasses this hurdle and
has recently delivered its first shipment of 900 MHz cordless telephones to Europe to be sold under the customers' private label.
From the acquisition Nam Tai also inherits a complete team of excellent Korean managers with strength and experience in
research and development, production, and marketing.
''Nam Tai is determined to be a major player in the world-wide telecommunications industry in the coming years,'' explained Mr.
Murakami, Nam Tai's Chairman. ''As a result of this acquisition, we are now producing 900 MHz cordless telephones from our
existing manufacturing facilities located in Shenzhen, China. We expect to have capacity in place to produce between 4 and 5
million units in year 2000 for the world-wide market.''
The new telecommunication division consists of a fully equipped manufacturing base located within Nam Tai's existing
manufacturing complex, sales and marketing operations in Hong Kong, and three strong research and development teams already
established in Korea, Japan and North America. To remain on the leading edge of technology the research and development
teams are continuously pursuing and researching new high technology telecommunication products and manufacturing expertise.
They are also responsible for developing new products including digitally enhanced cordless telephones (''DECT''), family radio
systems (''FRS'') and 2.4 GHz high frequency communication products. The new products are scheduled for commercial
production within 2 years.
Mr. S. Shim, formerly an Executive Director for over 20 years with Maxon Electronics Co., Ltd. (''Maxon''), was appointed as
Managing Director of NT Telecom. Maxon is the world's second largest manufacturer of cordless telephones and is a leading
player in the world-wide telecommunication industry.
Mr. D.G. Hahn has been appointed as the Executive Director of NT Telecom, and will be responsible for two sales and marketing
teams headed by Mr. J.S. Kim (Europe) and Mr. S.J. Lim (North America). Mr. Hahn brings 20 years of telecommunication sales
and marketing experience including 15 years as an Executive Director with Maxon where he worked closely with Mr. Shim.
''Nam Tai's marketing strategy is to offer high quality value added telephones with additional functions and enhanced design at a
lower price than competitors,'' commented Mr. Murakami. ''The telecommunication industry is experiencing rapid growth and
intense competition. Nam Tai's COG technology that is used to produce advanced LCD modules, a critical part in high-end
telecommunication products, allows the company to produce telecommunication products with a comparative cost advantage. By
continually improving product design and production efficiency, and investing in advanced technologies such as COG, we expect to
remain competitive while maintaining steady profit margins.''
Second Quarter Results Release Date
Nam Tai's second quarter results for the period ended June 30, 1999 will be released before the market opens on Monday, August
9, 1999.
The Company will hold an analysts-only conference call on Monday, August 9, 1999 at 12:00 noon Eastern Time for analysts to
discuss the second quarter results with management. Analysts who wish to receive the dial-in number for this conference call are
invited to contact Investor Relations at 800-661-8831 no later than Friday, August 6, 1999 at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Shareholders, investors and other interested individuals are invited to listen to the live conference call by dialing 612-332-0819 just
prior to its start time of 12:00 noon Eastern Time on Monday, August 9, 1999. Callers will be asked to register with the conference
call operator.
Analyst Trip to Hong Kong and China visiting the facilities of Nam Tai Electronics, Inc., Deswell Industries Inc. and Bonso
Electronic International Inc.
The Company will be hosting a trip to Hong Kong and Shenzhen China to visit the facilities of Nam Tai, Deswell Industries Inc.
(Nasdaq: DSWL - news), and Bonso Electronic International Inc. (Nasdaq: BNSO - news and BNSOW - news). The trip is
scheduled for August 15th to 20th, 1999. Interested analysts and investors are encouraged to contact the Company for further
details about attending the trip.
Nam Tai Electronics, Inc. is a consumer electronics design and manufacturing service provider to some of the world's leading
original equipment manufacturers. Nam Tai manufactures telecommunication products palm-sized PC's, personal digital assistants,
linguistic products, calculators, telecommunication products, smart card readers and various components which are used in,
electronic toys, and household appliances. The Company utilizes advanced production technologies such as chip on board
(''COB''), chip on glass (''COG''), surface mount technology (''SMT''), tape automated bonding (''TAB'') and outer lead bonding
(''OLB'') technologies and anistropic conductive film (''ACF'') heat seal technology. Further information is available from Nam
Tai's web site at namtai.com.
Except for the historical information contained herein, matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements. For
example, the Company's expectations regarding the future prospects and opportunities of its telecommunication division including
units and products produced are forward-looking statements the results of which are uncertain and dependent upon many factors
including reliance of key management people, end-user demand, competitive pressures, potential delays in development times,
technological change, and changes in licensing requirements. Other factors that might cause differences in this and other forward
looking statements include those discussed in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time
to time, such as the factors set forth in Item 1. ''Description of Business - Risk Factors'' in the Company's Annual Report on Form
20-F for the year ended December 31, 1998.
SOURCE: Nam Tai Electronics, Inc.
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